When The Mind Wanders
by XxBlaiddxX
Summary: A VashxMeryl One-shot. What happens when Vash gets bored, and miss-uses his powers...or does he? Pairing s : Vash/Meryl


**It's done....I can't believe I finished it! I'm rather happy with the outcome. I really hope you like it, and appreciate the ending instead of hating it. lol, ok, enjoy.**

**PS-I leave Meryl's fantasy up to your imagination. XD**

********

I leaned into the hard-back chair I was sitting in, searching for a non-existent comfortable position. Yawning, I cracked my neck. Then my fingers. Then my shoulders. I yawned again, mid-day boredom consuming me.

Scanning the crowded open-air restaurant, my eyes landed on a pretty waitress. I could feel my face start to melt, but caught it in time.

Noting the time, (2 PM) and the number of empty beer mugs in front of me, (2) I decided it was against my best interests to order again. Water would be just fine. My stomach gurgled in agreement.

Sighing, I slipped my sunglasses out of my pocket, and perched them on my nose. I slid them up with two fingers, and settled into my seat. Closing my eyes, I began to go through my boredom routine. I tried to think of ways to safely entertain myself, without causing major disruption/chaos among people around me.

What can I say. It's a work in progress.

At the time, it seemed like an innocuous enough way to amuse myself. I had the ability to open my mind to people's passing thoughts, and listen to every day thoughts and reflections. Not to mention passions, fantasies, worries... It wasn't particularly pleasant, and probably in violation of several major privacy laws, but it took my mind off of my own problems. Heck, at least it was interesting.

As I opened my mind, the words filtered in, jumbled together. They were followed by brief mental images that flashed for a second, before disappearing again into the ether of nothingness, the place where lost thoughts go. I concentrated harder, until I could pick out individual thoughts forming some coherent pattern.

".........Jane coming over Wednesday, I HAVE to clean the house........."

"..........Does he really love me? I know he says it all the time but..........."

"...........Oh lord do I hate him! How DARE he call me fat.........."

"............Will we run out of money, what would we do.........."

"...........Pudding, Pudding, Pudding, Yum..........."

"............I....I wonder if he even sees me..........."

"............Probably a player. I'll end up dumping him, I just know it........."

"............And laundry, you know, one of these days those kids have got to go........."

"............have a DEADLINE to meet............"

"..............He can see right through me, he knows I'm not worth it.........."

Whoa, Back up five spaces. I searched for the voice again, so familiar. It was usually grating in tone, and it often yelled at me. But now it had been so surprisingly soft, I had almost missed it in passing. It took me forever to locate it again, but when I did, I listened.

"...........I mean, I know he _sees_ me. I'm always in his face, that's kinda hard to miss. But he never...notices. Anything. There he is, sitting over there. He's really quite cute. Sound asleep, no doubt. Does he ever CARE what I feel!? No, of course not. I'm nothing to him. Why should I be? God, I'm so self-centered sometimes. I just wish...I wish things were different."

I popped one eye open in curiosity, scouring the restaurant for the short insurance girl's face. After a few seconds, my eyes rested on her table. The big insurance girl was with her, and had the happiest look about herself as she dug into what appeared to be her fourth bowl of pudding. I cautiously turned my gaze to the dark-haired woman.

The look on her face was one of ultimate placidity, completely in control and relaxed. A small, covert smile was on her lips. I wondered for a moment what she was thinking about now, and then remembered that there was no need to wonder. Reaching for a glass of water, I took a swig and listened.

At first, there was nothing. She wasn't currently talking inside her head- then I realized- she was fantasizing. A very strange mental picture flashed across my mind, and then something very odd happened. Somehow, I managed to spit up every ounce of water that had been in my mouth, _and_ send water shooting through my nose. Across most of the restaurant it sprayed, heads turning left and right in disgust.

Coughing and sputtering and snorting, every eye in the place found itself looking at me. Hacking and wheezing, I shrunk down into my seat in the hopes that I wouldn't be noticed by two particular people.

Too late. I felt two pairs of familiar eyes bear down on my position. The little insurance girl's cheeks were flame red; I couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment, or anger towards me for interrupting her colleagues' mid-afternoon pudding break.

"Sir, are you alright? Can I get you anything?" The concerned-looking waitress stood over my table, waiting for my answer.

"Uh...a towel might be nice," I squeaked. "If it's not too much trouble, that is." She smiled at me, pulling a dishcloth from around her waist. Handing it to me, she asked if there was anything else she could do for me. I was tempted to say yes, but the coward in me said no. "No, that's fine. Thanks."

The restaurant settled back into it's normal swing, the people closest to me ordering replacement food.

I rubbed the towel over my left arm vigorously; I had an insane fear of water when it came to that appendage. I always removed it before getting in the shower, and was careful to never get near a large source of water with it. Rust was the culprit; I needed an upgrade badly. I wiped my face and looked over the crowd again. The insurance girls were no where to be seen. I had a terrible feeling in my gut- apart from the alcohol.

What....what had I stumbled onto? What had I _seen?_ I felt like I had seen something I wasn't intended to see. Big shocker, that.

I knew that Meryl wasn't nearly as hostile as she seemed. I also knew that she was mildly fond of me. But...but...

I couldn't even begin to imagine the reasons behind the surprising image in my head. Is that what girls did all day? Day-dreamed about men they....they....

They cared about?

My head suddenly flew forward without my body's consent, as a fist made contact with the back of it. My sunglasses went flying off my face, and onto the table surface. I yelped quietly, knowing that if I was much louder, I would be hit harder the next time.

"What do you mean, making a scene like that?", her voice hissed. "_Low Profile_, remember? Last time I checked, that doesn't involve spewing a public place with your_ spit_!" On the last word, she graphically illustrated her point. I cowed lower, wiping my eye.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" I didn't really know what I was apologizing for. Last time I had checked, I was an adult, (not to mention an _outlaw_) and didn't really answer to anyone but my own moral code. Lately, it seemed that I had a set of babysitters watching my every move.

"I choked!" Rubbing the back of my neck with my left hand, I flashed a disarming smile in the hopes of winning her over. Was this really the person I had heard just a minute ago, talking sweetly about me? Maybe she had a twin who was secretly stalking me. I had a twin not many people knew about...hey, it was possible!

"On BEER!" She pointed accusingly to the two bottles that now lay on their side. "Have I mentioned lately how sick I am of that habit of yours? You're stupid enough when you're sober!"

I grinned sheepishly, giving up. There was no use explaining to her that I never really got drunk, that it was all just an act to fit in. I couldn't get plastered, even if I wanted to. For me, it was a social thing. Alcohol tasted terrible, I was allergic to it, and it make me puke. There was no point explaining. I smiled again, looking to Milly for support. She was watching a butterfly, humming to herself, and waiting for Meryl to be done with me. A person got the feeling that she often had to occupy herself, while her coworker berated some poor soul about their insurance.

"And FURTHERMORE-", She started to continue. Being tired of listening to her, I stood up, cutting her off. Standing to my full height, she was very small and not nearly as frightening. Picking up my sunglasses, I slid them back onto my face. I looked down at her. She still looked angry, but I saw a small flush in her cheeks that I had never noticed before. Surely it had always been there...

"Hey, you can calm down now. I'm leaving."

"Oh."

I almost regretted saying it. Her face went from vicious to downtrodden in just a few seconds. As her demeanor quickly calmed, she stood aside to let me out.

I started to walk away from my table, but something in my conscience stopped me. Not the part that stopped me from inflicting deadly harm on another person...but the part inside of me that told me to comfort someone who was sad or lonely.

I turned on my heel and started walking back. Milly had gone over to one of the nearest waitresses, presumably to ask for their check. Meryl was still standing at my table, quietly shuffling through some insurance documents. I wandered closer, until I was a few paces from her.

"Hi." It seemed to be the most innocuous thing I could say. I wanted to say so much. The tiny human fascinated me to no end.

She lifted her head out of her papers, looking at me with her large, violet eyes. I gulped. I swore she'd never looked at me like that. A piece of her dark hair fell over one of eyes, brushing against her cheek. It was all I could do to resist the urge to touch it.

"Vash, you look like you just saw a ghost!"

I put on my blankest face and smiled.

She smiled weakly back, averting her eyes to her paperwork.

"I'm...I'm...sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh. I have a report due tomorrow, and I'll have to send it off tonight...and it's just a nightmare."

I couldn't believe my ears. Meryl Stryfe had just _apologized_ to me. Without a word, I sat down and began to watch her.

With her loud mouth and her sharp temper, I knew she shouldn't remind me of Rem. But somehow she did. Was it her eyes? No. Rem's eyes were brown. Maybe her hair. It was definitely much shorter, but it _was_ the same shade. Yeah, that was it. I looked at her longer and changed my mind. It was her smile. Her compassion. For as tough as she acted, I knew there was a sweet center to her.

I always did things impulsively- It was what got me in trouble, an outlaw, and a rumored pervert.

She always did everything with her head, making choices based on fact rather than heart. I looked at her closer. How did she do it?

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up. "Vash? What do you need?"

What did I need? "Nothing." I bit my tongue at the lie. It sat there, bitter in my mouth. I looked around. Millie had paid, and had presumably gone back to their hotel room. The lunch hour rush had died down, and waiters and waitresses were now franticly cleaning tables, preparing for the next batch of customers.

The pretty waitress from before wandered over to our table. I smiled pleasantly at her, and she returned the favor. "Can I get ya'll anything?" I shook my head, wishing that she'd go away quietly. Instead, she rested one of her perfectly proportioned hips against our table. Completely ignoring the fact that I was sitting with another woman, she flipped her blond ponytail and leaned in close, allowing me the view of a good portion of her chest.

"I mean..._anything_." I shuddered slightly at her words. I could now see Meryl out of the corner of my eye. She looked vaguely like a black cat with it's hair raised. I wanted so very badly to flee, but there appeared to be no exit for me. I'd have to face one or the other. Most likely both. The waitress was now lowering herself slowly onto my lap. I did the only thing I could. I pushed her back. Her eyes flared as my palms made contact with her shoulders. One got the feeling that she wasn't turned down lightly, or for that matter, often.

"I'm sorry, but I'm married." I could see Meryl go pink. "You're disturbing my wife and I." I gestured towards the tiny woman beside me. "Please leave, before I have to issue a restraining order."

The blond's eyes widened, and for a moment she looked as if she would scream, or something worse. Then she blinked and swallowed, slowly regaining her composure. She quickly buttoned up her shirt and smoothed out her skirt. "I'm very sorry, Sir, Ma'am." She left much quicker than she had come, and avidly avoided our table after that.

There was silence for a few minutes, as Meryl tried to dismiss the fact I had called her my wife. She buried her nose in her papers, trying very hard not to look at me. Then she gave up and closed up her folder. "Why didn't....why didn't you....you know....she was pretty." She looked up at me, puzzlement in her eyes. "Not that I approve of you being a pervert! But...why."

I loved the fact that she was looking into my eyes, I never wanted her to take them away. They were so beautiful.

I stood up again, but this time I didn't walk away. Instead, I walked towards her. I dropped to my knees, becoming eye level with her angelic face. I hesitated momentarily, then leaned in, brushing my mouth against hers, waiting for some reaction to tell me to continue. Her lips found mine, accepting. I brought my left arm up, resting it against her face. I moved my other arm around her back, pulling her in snugly to my embrace-

-I woke up.

I was sitting at my table, the two beer bottles resting happily against my forehead. Blinking, my eyes slowly focussed. I pulled my face up from the table, rubbing the flat spot on my skin that had formed. The insurance girls were sitting across from me, chatting away happily.

I swallowed at the memory of the dream I'd just had.

I was pretty sure that I was in love with Meryl Stryfe.


End file.
